Biodiversity

• Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms existing on the earth, their interrelationships and their relationship with the environment.
• Following are few terms associated with biodiversity:

Species:

• It refers to a group or class of animals or plants having certain common and permanent characteristics that clearly distinguish it from the other groups.
• It is a group of population which is capable of interbreeding.
• Members of a species have common characteristics. E.g. Homo sapiens or human beings form one type of animal species.

Habitat:

• The natural environment of a plant or animal species, where it lives.

Ecosystem:

• It is made of all plants, animals and microorganisms in an area along with non-living components such as climate, soil, river deltas, etc.

Extinct species:

• Species that no longer exist anywhere on the Earth are called extinct species.

Endangered species:

• Species that are at a high risk of getting extinct in their habitat are called endangered species.

Endemic Species:

• Endemic species are those species of plants and animals which are found exclusively in a particular area. They are not naturally found anywhere else.
• Species is a group of populations which are capable of interbreeding.

Flora and Fauna:

• The numerous species of plants living in their natural habitat are termed the flora of a place and the animal species constitute the fauna.
• Sal, teak, mango are the flora 
• Leopard, wild dog, wolf, etc. are examples of the fauna.